West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-04-15
HOW EDITOR DANA LIVES.
]. III. CONNOLLY, in the COok.


A familiar figure in the streets OF
New York, is that of sturdy, ath-
letic man, with a firm yet springy
tread, keenly obseryant look and ge-
nial smile, whose strongly marked
individuality would cause almost
any stranger to ask, "Who is he!'
and almost any New Yorker would
promptly reply, "That is the Hon.
Charles A. Dana, the representative
editor" Neither in face or figure
does he seem to be more than forty
years of age, yet on the Sth of Au-
gust next, he will be sixty-six. That
he should still be in manhoods
prime, after so many years of ener-
getic, exhaustive, unremitting toll,
ever under the weightiest response
bilities and cares of editorial, liter
airy and public life, is surprising.
How does he do it? "Well," Mr..
Dana replied, smilingly, to one who
put that question, II live well and
take rational exercise. l have no
hobbies about plain and simple food,
but eat all l can get that is good
and that / know by experience
agrees with me. Theories about
eating are all nonsense. Experience
must govern every sensible mans
selection Of his food. If man
like Gould, who has one of the best
of cooks-or Vanderbilt, confines
himself to a few simple dishes, it is
because he has learned by expert
ence that they agree best with him.
Some men naturally have weak di-
gestive powers and must put strange
restriction on themselves. Conkling,
for instance, when in Washington,
used to breakfast always on baked
apples and little bread. l use
very little fruit, some vegetables, a
good deal of bread, but mainly
meats-meats of any kind, i have
no prejudices. Two good meals a
day are enough for me. If | take
luncheon it is very light-hardly
more than a glass of milk. "Do /
drink wine? Oh, yes; dry cham
pagne, because / consider that best.
/ left off long ago drinking claret,
hook and all sweet wines. They
and fruit tend to rheumatism and
gout. The only safe thing to drink,
if you would avoid gout, is dry
champagne. Burgundy? All! A
man of sound principles would rath-
er have the gout little than aban-
don it altogether. Corton and Mu
signy, or even q fine Latitte, are we'll
worth some hazard. Yes, and Clos
de Vougeot is very good, too. With
either of them you get sort Of
transcendental thing that you would
risk something for. / take tea at
breakfast, but use very little coffee.
All through the war, when l was
riding a great deal on horseback,
after being all day in the saddle,
coffee was useful and pleasant, but
it does not agree with my habits of
life since then. 1t has more effect
upon my nervous system than tea
has. No, / do not smoke, do not
use tobacco in any form. IL is not
digestible. That is matter of ex-
perience, not of theory"
The conversation drifting to the
subject of exercise, Mr.. Dana said:
" From 1850 to 1870, ] took a good
deal of horseback exercise. After the
war / rode great deal in Dickers
afterward Green's and also at little
riding school kept by my friend Pal
omino on East Twenty-second street.
have a great passion tor breaking
green, young horses to the high
manege. While the main purpose
is exercise, the attraction is the fun
of it. used to train horses to all
sorts of circus tricks. OF late years
/ have not done so much riding. 1t
takes too much time. My main ex-
ercise since partly giving up riding
has been billiards. One can always
find time for a game of billiards.
And it is an excellent exercise.
Your whole frame is brought into
sufficiently active exertion, not of
violent kind, and your mind is quite
taken away from the subjects that
habitually occupy it. That is what
makes both billiards and horseback
riding such valuable exercise, the
best, indeed, for men engaged in in
tellectual pursuits. Yes, draw-poker
is good in its way. / do not wish
to underrate it as an intellectual
or diverting pursuit, but you don't
get the exercise from it that you do
from riding or billiards. Walking
is exercise for the sake of exercise,
and Objectionable for that reason.